Benedict Cumberbatch will voice Smaug the dragon in The Hobbit

June 17, 2011 - By Liam Goodwin

Last month Martin Freeman accidentally let slip that his Sherlock Holmes co-star Benedict Cumberbatch would be joining him in The Hobbit, but no details on his role were revealed. Well Deadline did some digging and they’ve found that Cumberbatch will be providing the voice for Smaug the dragon, and he’ll also be portraying him via motion capture.

Here are details on Smaug (with spoilers for non-readers) from Tolkien Gateway:

Smaug was the greatest fire breathing dragon of the Third Age but details of his origin are unknown. He attacked the Lonely Mountain and the town of Dale and claimed the treasure of the mountain for himself and forced Thrór, King under the Mountain, and his people into exile. Thorin’s quest – with the help of his burglar Bilbo Baggins – to reclaim the treasure ended in success when Smaug was slain by Bard.

Freeman and Cumberbatch are currently shooting the second series of BBC’s Sherlock Holmes, and Cumberbatch will be seen later this year in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy alongside Tom Hardy, Colin Firth and Gary Oldman, and plays Major Stewart in Steven Spielberg’s War Horse.

What do Tolkien fans think of Peter Jackson’s choice for Smaug?

The Snake

Odd that he’ll be doing motion capture for a huge dragon. I’ve never heard him speak though, so I hope he can put on a deep, threatening voice.